It's Time for Camp!

And, by camp, I mean Camp NaNoWriMo.

Most of us know about NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month. In the month of November, writers sign up to take on the challenge of writing fifty-thousand words in thirty days. Fewer folks, however, know about Camp NaNoWriMo. Basically, same rules, different months.  This year, Camp will take place during June and August. So, if you've always put off NaNoWriMo because November is too chaotic, consider that excuse a toasted marshmallow.

Now, you're probably wondering why you should participate. I mean, you can write 50k any month of the year, right? Very true. Most serious writers do crank out a heavy word count without any NaNoWriMo badges as a reward. However, if you're like me, a deadline always helps to control the inner procrastinator. I'm the type of person who winces when I get an extension, because I know that my inner procrastinator has just been given permission to take a play-break.

So, the pressure of having thousands of other writers working their fingers to the bones during the same month? That stirs up my competitive side and makes me want to finish a project.

If you're like me, and you sometimes need the peer-pressure push, then visit campnanowrimo.org and sign up for one or both of the Summer challenges. (Also, as a side note, the forums at nanowrimo.org, the mother ship, as it were, are fun places for writers of all ages, in all stages of their careers. Check them out.)

-Ariyana
(busyprocrastinator.blogspot.com)

P.S. You can find me at either site under my author name, ADSpencer, if you want a friend or cabin buddy.

Challenge Eighteen: Thanksgiving Challenge

Okay, I know that we are all in the midst of NaNo or just finishing up some schoolwork, so this challenge will be simple.

• Write a poem of any length about Thanksgiving
• Include at least two of the following prompt words: pilgrims, indians, maize, turkey, Mayflower, sweet potato, hunting, football
• Due date is Friday, November 27, 2009...to give you a little more time since I'm posting this so late.

Well, happy writing! We'll be posting more challenges soon enough!

Things to Think About when Writing

Well, I'm taking a few minutes break from NaNoWriMo to talk about a couple of things that have been in my mind while I've beening doing my own mad writing dash through the first five days.

First off, I hope everyone is doing well. And even if you are behind right now, fear not! You can always catch up, regardless of what's going on elsewhere this month. On that note, I've heard one or two out in the NaNo world complain of being stuck in their novel. To them, I offer these suggestions. If you can't think of what's coming next, skip to a part you know. Just leave a little marker or note (notes count as words) to come back after NaNo is done or at the last few days of NaNo when you are still short a couple of thousand words. Also, don't worry about the "whats" of the novel right now. Word count is your primary goal. As it says on the NaNo calendar currently present on my laptop, "Don't have any ninjas? Add some!" Do ANYTHING to get yourself moving again.

I bring this up because I noticed that my output, so far today, has been lower than it has been the last few days. I began to worry that I was stuck...which I thought was impossible, due to my outlines. But, I realized, I was not stuck...I just needed a breather. This could also be the case for those of you who are "stuck." Take a break and come back a little later. Watch some TV, eat something that doesn't have caffeine in it, take a bath/shower, do anything but write. Then, in a couple of hours (or whenever your next section of free time comes that day), try again. That's my plan.

Which brings up another thought I had, even though NaNo is a huge part of our lives in Nov, one must remember to make time to do things that are more relaxing than worrying about word count. Breathers and sleep are important, as well as entertainment activities. And you want to know the upside to this? They'll probably act as inspiration for you novel. In fact, just today in class, I had an idea for something totally minor to mention in my novel, towards the end...but that toally minor mention will still take up word count. Remember, quanity is for Novemeber, quality is for December.

And don't forget to read. It is my personal belief that all authors must be readers...now, I don't care what it is that they read, just do it! Books, magazines, news articles, scientific journals, anything! And again, this could act as inspiration.

So, how is everyone feeling about NaNo? Well, one last reminder from me on this subject...just have fun with it! No one is judging you!

Now, on more Guild related matters, I'll be posting up a couple of new challenges...and maybe some informal ones that serve more as recommendations...later this month. Most will have Dec. due dates, with one--a short one!--being due in Nov.! Be on the look out for those!

And, finally, I'd like to thank dear Slinky for keeping us inspired with her daily updates in the upper left corner of our Guild.

Happy NaNoing!

--Patricia
Head of the Department of Backstory
15,917 words

NaNoWriMo: Soon, My Precious, Soon

Smell that, Guild folk? That's the scent of National Novel Writing Month, right around the corner. Sure, it smells a little like jerky, pocky sticks, and spilled soft drinks--but isn't it great? Everyone here should know what NaNoWriMo is. If you don't know, refer to previous posts or go to www.NaNoWriMo.org. In fact, one of our active challenges involves NaNoWriMo. And, oh how I plan on tackling that challenge this coming week. I'm hoping this blog serves as a NaNo reminder to Guild members who might like to participate. I know Patricia, Kimmi, and I have already started preparing for our novel writing experience.

I've been trying to get myself inspired. I've written an Associated Content article on the challenge (well, not specifically, but on preparing for NaNo through background stories), and it should be up within a few days.

In the mean time, I thought I might suggest a few activities to keep you motivated while you write your outline for your NaNo novel:

• You could begin to gather your music playlist for November (thanks, Patrica, for reminding me).
  
• Aside from this, the more artistic guild members might want to think about drawing character sketches or gathering celebrity pictures to use as character references.
• Also, NaNoWriMo has a place to upload your "cover page" under Novel Info, if you'd like to create one for fun.
  
• Maps can be your friend. For fantasy writers, draw a map of the areas, blue print the buildings, decide where to place the mudmen in your bog, etc.
  
• Make a banner for your novel and put it on your social networking sites or use it in your NaNo signature to advertise your story. Mine is above, obviously :D Here's where you can go to make your own:
  

http://www.bannersketch.com/index.php?pid=home

• Make a YouTube trailer. Yeah, I've never made a video before, but this morning at about 2am, I woke up and decided that it would be a good idea. This was the result of that experiment (leave a comment, haha):
  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clsQpHabBD4

or the video below might also work. (Disclaimer: I do not own the music or the photos. Better disclaimer located on YouTube, haha.)







EDIT: Another thing to help prepare and motivate is a calendar. Check out these calendars made by folks in the NaNoWriMo forums:
http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/node/3264274?page=1

Challenge Fifteen: The NaNoWriMo Backstory Challenge

Visit NaNoWriMo.org for more information on National Novel Writing Month.

NaNoWriMo. . .What a special time of year! Thousands of writers gathered with one common writing goal--finish a 50,000 word novel in one month's time.

This year, to help all you funky NaNos out there, I propose a challenge before THE Challenge.

As you're plotting, outlining, and forming characters for your NaNo Novel, you can take part in this October challenge. It might help you when you start to write on November 1st.

Challenge:
Pick a character who is going to be present in your NaNoWriMo novel. Every character is full of history. After all, they should have lived a life before the events of your story. So pick an event, a moment in their life, or even a previous adventure they were involved in and write a short story.

• Character must be present in your future NaNo novel.

• Story cannot share the same plot as your NaNo novel.
  

• 900 wd Minimum, no max

• Due Oct 31st (In other words, before NaNoWriMo begins.)

• Post either a link or a short synopsis in the below comments. I realize that, if you're serious about your NaNo Novel, you might not want post your short story on a site like fictionpress.com (just in case you need to tweek it after the actual NaNo event has changed your character).

• YOU CANNOT USE THIS STORY AS WORD COUNT DURING NANOWRIMO.

Have fun! I can't wait to see your responses.

NaNoWriMo: Finish Line. Not Quite but Kinda.

Can you believe November is over? I just barely crossed the 50k line myself. And that was without my actual novel reaching anything close to a conclusion. I still have work to do if it's going to be anything. This year wasn't a great year for writing but it did teach me a few things:

Head starts are awesome. I was sick for a week. I took tons of days off, but because of the head start I got on my word count goal (10k in three days), I was able to keep up. Also, I learned that I can write wayyyyy too many words in a weekend if I put my mind to it.

Journals are the bomb diggity. I kept a NaNo journal on my One Note. It really kept me informed of where I was lacking and when I was a powerhouse. I also realized that One Note is so convenient that I'll probably be using it for everything from a food journal to a poetry diary.

NaNoWriYe. So maybe it's not national, but I think I could benefit from a National Novel Writing Year. I'm at that age. I need to be working my baby. It's that time. I've got to keep my writing chiselled to rock hard syntax perfection and get my dialogue lookin' sexy. This is the year. I say that all the time. Every year. However, my life is about to hit an oil slick. I'm going to be tossed out on my butt careerwise. Also, I realized that several of my stories have not been worked on since '06. What happened to '07 and '08? Seriously. College. Anyhow, this year needs to be the year that something is done. Who's with me?

*silence*

Seriously, any takers?

*crickets*

Well, I'm still doing it. Here goes an entire year of setting goals and failing. I mean, overcoming obsticals. Yeah. That's what I meant. I plan on keeping up with my failures and my successes in a journal. What do you guys think? Is the writing journal worth the extra writing? This question goes out to those of you who know about my list obsession...